Go Green!

It amazes me how much has changed in regards to our perspective of Mother Earth since I was a child. I clearly remember riding in the back of Dad's pickup truck, on top of the bags of garbage, on our way to the dump. Yes, the dump. You would arrive at the "dump" and simply throw the bags into the pit of burning trash. The smell was pretty remarkable, the odor of burning plastic and garbage was a wonderful way to start a Saturday morning.

So last night, as I was sitting at the computer answering questions for Disney travelers, I could hear the television in the other room. The kids were watching Noggin, and during the breaks they were running "recycling" information spots. It was teaching the kids to recycle paper, bottles etc. Impressive for a pre-school level television station. What I think is more impressive, is that my kids already know all this, and practice it faithfully.

Now, I will put it up front that I am not a tree-hugging, Birkenstock wearing type environmentalist, but I do care about preserving our natural resources for future generations. So in our household we recycle.

Everything.

Almost to a fault.

My husband is in fact, the recycling police. It is standard procedure in our house to remove the plastic windows from the window envelopes received in the mail, so that the paper may be recycled. It is standard procedure to clean out and remove any plastic spouts from milk or orange juice cartons so the carton can be recycled. It is standard procedure to remove all caps plastic bottles, then crush them to make certain space is preserved in the recycling bins at the transfer stations. It is standard procedure to take any shred of tinfoil used in our kitchen and promptly place it in the recycling bin after use. I understand his desire to recycle as much as we possibly can...but there are days when I would simply prefer to bury the window envelope deep within the "trash" rather than tediously strip the cellophane from it. I'm terrible.

So the guilt surrounds me today regarding the number of window envelopes I've let go un-recycled, or the soy milk cartons that didn't get proper disposal. I will work harder to recycle more.

Can I get on my soap box for just a minute. I have no problem beating myself up over my recycling shortcomings, but I have one serious complaint. Littering. With the snow melting, and grass not yet green, this time of year lends itself to the obvious disregard a LOT of people must have for our planet. The amount of garbage and trash I see littering our rural highways, and roads is disgusting. Everything from fast food bags, to beer cans, soda bottles and cigarette butts. Disgusting. How freaking difficult is it to dispose of your trash properly? What would make ANYONE think it's okay just to chuck their waste out of their car window?

One other vent...Overall, we have working really hard to decrease our carbon footprint (not only my family personally, but I think our nation as a whole), but are we swimming upstream? Not that we should lessen the fight, but when you look at nations such as China who had to cease industrial operations to clear the air enough to allow the worlds athletes to compete. Or India, one of the most populous nations in the world...do they promote recycling and reduction of green house gasses? I fear that our efforts are going to be thwarted by the negative effects of over pollution by other countries.

I never intended this to wind up an angry, grumpy entry...and I hope it doesn't come across that way too much. I am very proud of my kids for their proactive outlook on recycling and energy efficiency. I am proud of their school system for making Go Green! their overall school theme this year. I am thankful for my recycling police of a husband for not backing down on the importance of recycling everything we can.